Canadians react to U.S. election results

Canadians continue to react in shock today to a stunning U.S. election and news that Donald Trump will be that nation’s 45th president.

“I was devastated and just felt so disturbed and scared that like this is the future,” first-year Ryerson student Seager Wakil said. “I think it’s just really troubling that that’s what the population believes in and can support and tolerate.”

Wakil woke up at 4 a.m. to learn Trump had won the presidency and said his initial reaction was disappointment.

“His basic morals and attitudes about different groups and minorities and women are extremely sexist (and) racist,” Wakil said. “I don’t think in this day and age that’s what a country or this world needs.”

Another Ryerson student, Elizabeth Nardi, is calling the results ridiculous.

“I was so against Donald Trump winning,” Nardi said. “How can white women vote for him? I just feel like he thinks (women) are objects that he can toy around with and drop when he’s bored.”

A presidential nominee needs 270 electoral votes to win, and as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, Trump had 279, according to the Associated Press.

Ronald Vogel, an American politics professor at Ryerson said he was shocked too, admitting that he had predicted Hillary Clinton would win with 300 electoral votes.

“The analogy I might make is to (previous Toronto) mayor Rob Ford,” Vogel said. “People just couldn’t believe this outrageous candidate who seems to behave so badly ... people just thought there is no way anyone would elect this guy.”

Leonard Rempel, an account manager at a company tied to both Canada and the United States, said that he believes our southern neighbours are more racist than Canadians, adding that his wife was so bothered by the election results, she refused to discuss them this morning.

“I always hear people in the U.S. talk about the Latino vote, the black vote, the women vote, this vote, that vote,” Rempel said. “In Canada what do you hear? The vote. We don’t care who the person is, we just want to elect them.”

Rempel’s opinion seemed to be echoed by second-year Ryerson student Lathiha Thillainadarajah.

“I think Trump is racist, he’s a bigot, he’s sexist, the list can go on forever,” Thillainadarajah said. “I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated being Canadian as much as I do today.”

Thillainadarajah also said she thinks this could have negative consequences for the upcoming generation.

“If a man like Donald Trump is leading your country,” Thillainadarajah said. “If a man like that can be president, what are little kids are going to be thinking if he is the role model?”

However, something positive did come out of the U.S. election for Thillainadarajah, who said Clinton ran an amazing campaign.

“It was a really big inspiration to see someone like her who could have potentially become the first female (president) of the United States.”

Thillainadarajah may not be alone in that idea.

Third-year Ryerson student Reshma Nair calls her an unbelievable role model.

“She broke all barriers and boundaries,” Nair said. “I think she puts inspiration in women that no other (female candidate) has.”

Ryerson will be hosting an event today focused on the fallout from the U.S. presidential election. It gets underway at 6:30 p.m. in the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre.

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